Flight Test Principles and Practices
Instructor(s)
Description
Introduction to flight test process, principles and practices. Engineering principles and their application to the flight testing of aircraft will be covered.
Target Audience
Designed for all levels of engineers and managers in industry working on flight test projects, military and civil project engineers, test pilots and flight test engineers, government research laboratory personnel, and FAA and other regulatory agency engineers.
Fee Includes
Includes instruction, a course notebook, Introduction to Flight Test Engineering, Volume I, by Donald T. Ward, Thomas W. Strganac and Rob Niewohner, refreshments and five lunches. The course notes are for participants only and are not for sale.
Fees: See fee information for individual classes in the registration column on the right side of this page.
Class Time
35 hours • 3.5 CEUs
Course Outline
Day One
- Flight test overview and introduction; the atmosphere: properties, altimetry, pneumatic lag; air data principles and measurements: airspeed, altitude, Mach number, alpha and beta; mass, center of gravity, and moment of inertia determination; time/space position measurements
Day Two
- Air data calibration methods: position error; temperature probe, angle of attack, and sideslip calibration; instrumentation system principles: design requirements, static and dynamic response, calibration; data recording and processing methods: analog, digital, filtering, and signal conditioning; proper use of digital bus data (MIL-1553, ARINC 429, 629) for flight testing; propulsion system testing: piston, turboprop, and turbofan engines; in-flight measurement of thrust and power
Day Three
- Stall tests: stall speed determination, stall characteristics, stall protections systems; flight test program planning: organization, milestones, flight cards, documentation, procedures, safety issues; takeoff and landings and cruise performance: speed, range, and endurance; climb performance: test methods, correction to standard conditions, specific energy concepts
Day Four
- Advanced performance methods: nonstabilized performance methods, turning performance, ground effect measurement, getting more for less from flight tests; static stability and control: longitudinal and lateral-directional static stability testing; dynamic stability and control: dynamic mode characteristics and measurement; handling qualities: Cooper-Harper scale, FAR and mil-spec requirements, workload scale; parameter identification: regression analysis, maximum likelihood estimation of derivatives
Day Five
- Thrust drag accounting, isolation and measurement of component drags; structural flight tests: static loads, flutter; flow visualization: tufts, flow cones, sublimating chemicals, liquid crystals, dyes, smoke injection; test methods; spin testing: test methods, safety issues; systems testing and evaluation: communication, navigation, SAS and autopilots
Comments from Past Participants
"It met all my upfront expectations or even exceeded them. The instructors are just great." — Joao Rafael C. M. Silva, Embraer
"Fantastic course. The instructors were very knowledgeable and engaging. This course answered a lot of the questions I had about how and why we test flight principles the way we do." — 2008 Attendee
Dates and Locations
For Course Information
Contact Kim Hunsinger
at 785-864-4758
or use the button below:
On-Site Course Information
Find out how courses
can be tailored to
your company’s needs.
Contact Zach Gredlics
at 785-864-1066
or use the button below:
Registration Information
Mail
Aerospace Short Courses
The University of Kansas
Continuing Education
Registrations
1515 St. Andrews Drive
Lawrence, KS 66047-1619
Phone
Toll-free 877-404-5823
or 785-864-5823
Fax
785-864-4871
TDD
800-766-3777
E-mail
kuce@ku.edu
